The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken into custody four MBBS students from AIIMS Patna on Thursday in connection with the NEET-UG paper leak case, officials confirmed.
The arrested individuals include three third-year students, namely Chandan Singh, Rahul Anant, and Kumar Shanu, as well as one second-year student named Karan Jain. They were apprehended following intensive questioning by a CBI team.
According to sources, the students were removed from their hostel accommodations on Wednesday, with prior notification to senior faculty members at AIIMS who assisted in the process. The agency has since sealed their hostel rooms.
AIIMS Patna Director G K Paul stated, "The CBI has detained four students - Chandan Singh, Rahul Anant, Kumar Shanu from the third year, and Karan Jain from the second year."
He further noted that senior officials had communicated the necessity of their presence through photographs and contact details.
The arrests follow the recent detention of Pankaj Kumar alias Aditya, a civil engineer from NIT Jamshedpur, suspected of pilfering the NEET-UG paper from an NTA trunk in Hazaribagh.
Kumar was apprehended in Patna, while another accomplice, Raju Singh, was arrested in Hazaribagh for aiding in the theft.
CBI's investigation into the NEET-UG scandal spans six FIRs, focusing on incidents of paper leaks, impersonation, and cheating across Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra.
The agency's independent FIR, initiated at the behest of the Union education ministry, aims to comprehensively probe alleged irregularities in NEET-UG 2024.
NEET-UG, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), serves as the gateway for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and related courses in both public and private institutions.
This year's examination, held on May 5 across 4,750 centers in 571 cities, drew participation from over 23 lakh candidates, including 14 centers abroad.
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